User notification method, handwritten data capture device, and program

ABSTRACT

A user notification method performed by a handwritten data capture device includes determining whether a pointing body is in a pen-up state or a pen-down state, and determining whether coordinate data of a pointing body on a touch sensor of the handwritten data capture device is stored in a first area of a memory. In response to determining that the coordinate data is stored in the first area of the memory and that the pointing body is in the pen-up state, making a first user notification, for example, by causing a LED lamp to slowly flash a light green color. In response to an acceptance of a given user operation, switching a storage destination of the coordinate data to a second area of the memory that is different from the first area. Accordingly, a user may be prevented from forgetting to press an operating button for changing a storage destination file of handwritten data.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a user notification method, ahandwritten data capture device, and a program and, relates, inparticular, to a handwritten data capture device having an operatingbutton used to change a handwritten data storage destination file, and auser notification method and a program for the handwritten data capturedevice.

Description of Related Art

A handwritten data capture device is known that permits electroniccapture of handwriting as handwritten data at the time of writing of aletter or drawing of a picture on a paper medium such as report sheet.This kind of device is generally configured to include a positiondetector such as digitizer and an electronic pen that has a function asa pointing body and a function as a ballpoint pen. A paper medium isplaced on a touch surface of the digitizer. According to thisconfiguration, it is possible for the position detector to acquire aseries of coordinate data representing the path of motion traced by theelectronic pen on the touch surface when a user writes some letters orpictures on the surface of the paper medium using the ballpoint penfunction of the electronic pen. The series of coordinate data thusacquired serves as handwritten data that represents handwriting tracedby the electronic pen. Patent Document 1 discloses an example of such ahandwritten data capture device.

Patent Documents 2 and 3 disclose examples of handwritten data capturedevices using electronic paper that includes an ultrathin display ratherthan traditional paper made from plant fiber as a paper medium. In theseexamples, electronic paper and a position detector are overlaid one ontop of the other, and the user writes on the electronic paper with anelectronic pen. The electronic paper has no position detection function,and handwriting is detected by the position detector. The positiondetector is configured to display the detected handwriting on theelectronic paper. Therefore, the user can have an experience as if he orshe wrote on the electronic paper.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENT Patent Documents

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-147771

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-206845

Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-022257

BRIEF SUMMARY Technical Problems

Incidentally, as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, there are casesin which a paper medium (traditional paper or electronic paper)including a plurality of pages is used for a handwritten data capturedevice. In this case, it is necessary for the handwritten data capturedevice to create handwritten data separately for each page. Otherwise,handwritings written on each of the plurality of pages in the papermedium overlap within one page on the screen.

A possible solution to this would be to provide an operating button onthe handwritten data capture device so that each time the operatingbutton is pressed, the storage destination file of handwritten data ischanged. As a result, as the user presses the operating button each timethe user changes the page on which he or she writes, a different file iscreated. This makes it possible to avoid the situation in whichhandwritings appear in an overlapping manner within one page asdescribed above.

With this configuration, however, if the user forgets to press theoperating button, the storage destination file of handwritten datacannot be changed at a page break. This is not preferable, and atechnology is required that is capable of preventing the user fromforgetting to press the operating button.

Therefore, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide a usernotification method, a handwritten data capture device, and a programthat can prevent a user from forgetting to press an operating button forchanging a storage destination file of handwritten data.

Technical Solution

A user notification method according to the present disclosure isperformed by a handwritten data capture device. The user notificationmethod includes determining whether a pointing body is in a pen-up stateor pen-down state, determining whether coordinate data of the pointingbody on a touch sensor of the handwritten data capture device is alreadystored in the first area of a memory, making a first user notificationin response to determining that the coordinate data is already stored inthe first area of the memory and that the pointing body is in the pen-upstate, and switching a storage destination of the coordinate data to asecond area of the memory that is different from the first area inresponse to accepting a given input.

A handwritten data capture device according to the present disclosureincludes a sensor controller, an operation acceptance unit, anotification unit, a processor coupled to the operation acceptance unitand the notification unit, and a memory storing a program. The sensorcontroller, in operation, successively acquires coordinate data of apointing body on a touch sensor and successively stores the acquiredcoordinate data in a first area of a memory. The operation acceptanceunit, in operation, accepts a given operation by a user. Thenotification unit, in operation, generates user notifications. Theprogram causes the processor to make a given first user notificationusing the notification unit in response a determination that thecoordinate data is already stored in the first area of the memory andthat the pointing body is in a pen-up state, and switch a storagedestination of the coordinate data acquired by the sensor controller toa second area of the memory that is different from the first area inresponse to an acceptance of the given operation by the operationacceptance unit.

A non-transitory storage medium according to the present disclosurestores a program that, when executed by processor, causes a handwrittendata capture device to perform a user notification process. According tothe user notification process, the handwritten data capture devicedetermines whether a pointing body is in a pen-up state or a pen-downstate, and determines whether coordinate data of the pointing body on atouch sensor of the device is already stored in a first area of amemory, makes a first user notification in response to a determinationthat the coordinate data is already stored in the first area of thememory and that the pointing body is in a pen-up state, and switches astorage destination of the coordinate data acquired by a sensorcontroller of the handwritten data capture device to a second area ofthe memory that is different from the first area in response to anacceptance of a given user operation.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present disclosure, a given first notification can bemade to a user at a time considered a page break, making it possible toprevent the user from forgetting to press an operating button forchanging a storage destination file of handwritten data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the appearance of a handwritten datacapture device 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating examples of internal configurations ofan electronic pen 10, a digitizer 2, and a computer 30 depicted in FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating examples of internal configurations ofa touch sensor 2 b and a sensor controller 20 depicted in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a handwritten data fileaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing flow of acentral processing unit (CPU) 21 that controls lighting of alight-emitting diode (LED) lamp 5 b depicted in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a block diagram of a CPU34 depicted in FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a touch screen 31that accepts a display process performed by a display circuit 61depicted in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the touch screen31 after a user taps a touch button 70 depicted in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the touch screen31 when the user moves a handle 72 by a slide operation at the sight ofthe display depicted in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the touch screen31 when the user moves the handle 72 by a slide operation at the sightof the display depicted in FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the touch screen31 after the user taps a touch button 74 in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing flow of theCPU 34 depicted in FIG. 2.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a modification example of a slider 71according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating another modification example of theslider 71 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating still another modification example ofthe slider 71 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a modification example of first andsecond user interfaces according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A detailed description will be given below of a preferred embodiment ofthe present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the appearance of a handwritten datacapture device 1 according to the present embodiment. As illustrated inthe same figure, the handwritten data capture device 1 is configured toinclude a digitizer 2, an electronic pen 10, and a tablet computer 30.Of these, the digitizer 2 is a device having not only a function as aposition detector making up a position detection device based on anelectro-magnetic resonance (EMR) method but also a function as astationery item called clipboard. On the other hand, the electronic pen10 is a device that has not only a function as a pointing body that canbe detected by an EMR-based position detection device but also a writinginstrument that leaves handwriting on the surface of a paper medium inmanner that is similar to a ballpoint pen, for example. Both thedigitizer 2 and the computer 30 have a flat plate appearance and arefastened to one and other faces of two-facing pages of a notebook typecover 40.

An outline of the handwritten data capture device 1 will be describedfirst. When the user writes a letter or draws a picture on a front face(writing surface) of a report sheet P held on the digitizer 2 as astationery item using the electronic pen 10 as a writing instrument, thehandwritten data capture device 1 captures handwritten data including aseries of coordinate data representing handwriting thereof using thedigitizer 2 as a position detector, transfers the data to the computer30, and displays the data on a touch screen 31 of the computer 30.

The digitizer 2 is configured to accumulate a series of successivelycaptured coordinate data in a single file as its basic operation. Thedigitizer 2 does not perform a process of recognizing on which page ofthe report sheet P a letter is written or a picture is drawn. Therefore,if the user writes on a plurality of pages while turning over the reportsheets P, a single file ends up containing coordinate data relating tohandwriting on different pages. If handwritten data accumulated in thismanner appears on the touch screen 31 of the computer 30, handwritingsrelating to a plurality of pages are displayed overlapping each other.

However, in this manner, the digitizer 2 bears no practical use.Therefore, the digitizer 2 has an operating button 4. When the userpresses the operating button 4, the digitizer 2 switches a storagedestination file of coordinate data to a new file. As a result, ahandwritten data file is created for each page, preventing overlappinghandwritings relating to a plurality of pages as described above fromappearing on the touch screen 31.

However, there is a practical problem in that the user may forget topress the operating button 4. In particular, with the exception of whenhandwritten data is displayed in realtime on the touch screen 31 of thecomputer 30 (which will be described in detail later), the user mustmanipulate the operating button 4 without being able to visuallyrecognize the handwritten data detected by the digitizer 2, inducing theuser into forgetting to press the operating button 4. The handwrittendata capture device 1 according to the present embodiment prevents theuser from forgetting to press the operating button 4 thanks to a new wayof lighting up LED lamps 5 a and 5 b provided on the digitizer 2 and, atthe same time, permits the page to be divided retroactively on thecomputer 30 by a user operation even if the user forgets to press theoperating button 4. A description will be given below in a step-by-stepmanner.

First, the digitizer 2 will be described. The digitizer 2 as astationery item is configured to include a flat front face 2 a on whichthe report sheets P are held and a clip 3 provided near one end of thefront face 2 a. The clip 3 is configured to pinch a paper medium, andthe user uses the handwritten data capture device 1 with the reportsheets P pinched by the clip 3. It should be noted that although thereport sheets P are used in the present embodiment, it is a matter ofcourse that other kinds of paper media (including traditional paper andelectronic paper) may be used. However, because a paper medium is heldbetween the electronic pen 10 as a pointing body and the digitizer 2 asa position detector, paper media having an action to interfere with thepassage of magnetic fields or electromagnetic waves cannot be used withthe handwritten data capture device 1.

The digitizer 2 as a position detector is configured to include thecentral processing unit (CPU) 21, a storage or memory device 23, and atouch sensor 2 b. The operation of the digitizer 2 which will bedescribed below is accomplished as the CPU 21 operates in accordancewith the program stored in the storage or memory device 23. Also, thedigitizer 2 operates on power supplied from an internal battery which isnot depicted.

The touch sensor 2 b is configured to include a plurality of loop coilsLC (refer to FIG. 3 described later) arranged in a rectangular planearea, and the touch sensor 2 b is arranged in part of the front face 2 aas illustrated by a dotted line in FIG. 1. The specific shape, positionand other characteristics of the area where the touch sensor 2 b isinstalled are configured such that when the report sheets P are disposedon the front face 2 a, the report sheets P as a whole fit inside theinstallation area as also depicted in FIG. 1. This is intended to ensurethat user handwritings on the entire surfaces of the report sheets P canbe captured as handwritten data.

The digitizer 2 has a function that acquires coordinate data indicatingthe position of the electronic pen 10 on the touch sensor 2 b. Thisacquisition is conducted periodically while the electronic pen 10 ispresent on the touch sensor 2 b. Therefore, when the electronic pen 10moves over the touch sensor 2 b, a series of coordinate data indicatinga motion path (handwriting) thereof is acquired by the digitizer 2. Thedigitizer 2 is configured to successively accumulate the series ofcoordinate data acquired in this manner in a memory 23 depicted in FIG.2 which will be described later.

Also, the digitizer 2 is configured, each time coordinate data isacquired, to acquire a variety of information about the electronic pen10 (e.g., information indicating the force applied to a pen tip 10 afrom the writing surface during writing (hereinafter referred to as “penpressure,” side switch information indicating the ON/OFF states of sideswitches 10 b and 10 c; hereinafter may be collectively referred to as“pen information”) and accumulate information about the electronic pen10 in the memory 23 depicted in FIG. 2 in association with acquiredcoordinate data.

Here, the EMR-based digitizer 2 can acquire coordinate data and peninformation of the electronic pen 10 as long as the digitizer 2 is closeto the touch sensor 2 b even if the electronic pen 10 is not necessarilyin contact with the touch sensor 2 b. Therefore, even if the reportsheets P are held between the electronic pen 10 and the touch sensor 2b, the digitizer 2 can acquire coordinate data and pen information aslong as the report sheet P is thick to a certain extent or less.

Conversely, when the electronic pen 10 is not in contact with the frontface of the report sheet P, when nothing is actually written or drawn,and when the electronic pen 10 and the touch sensor 2 b are at a certaindistance or less from each other, the digitizer 2 acquires coordinatedata and pen information. This is dealt with by excluding coordinatedata whose associated pen pressure is zero from coordinate data forwhich stroke data (described later) is to be created at the time ofcreation of stroke data by the computer 30.

In addition to the above, the digitizer 2 is configured to include theoperating button 4 and the LED lamps 5 a and 5 b as touched on above.All of these are arranged on the front face 2 a as depicted in FIG. 1.As specific positions on the front face 2 a, those not hidden even whenthe report sheets P are placed are selected so that the user can operateor visually recognize them while writing. The arrangement depicted inFIG. 1 is an example of such arrangements. In this example, the LED lamp5 a, the operating button 4, and the LED lamp 5 b are arranged side byside along one longitudinal side of the front face 2 a in this order.The specific functions and purposes of use of the operating button 4 andthe LED lamps 5 a and 5 b will be described in detail later.

A description will be given next of the electronic pen 10. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, the pen tip 10 a is provided on one end of theelectronic pen 10. While pressing the pen tip 10 a against the frontface of the report sheet P, the user writes a letter or draws a pictureby moving the pressed position.

Although not illustrated, the electronic pen 10 as a writing material isconfigured, for example, as a ballpoint pen including a thin tube and anoozing section. The thin tube stores ink. The oozing section causes ink,stored in the tube, to ooze out from the pen tip 10 a. In this case, ahandwriting is marked on the writing surface by the ink that oozed outfrom the pen tip 10 a through the oozing section.

It should be noted that the necessary function of the electronic pen 10as a writing material is essentially a function to write on a papermedium placed on the front face of the digitizer 2. Therefore, it is notmandatory for the electronic pen 10 to have a ballpoint pen function asdescribed above, and the electronic pen 10 may be configured to writeusing graphite, for example, as does a pencil or a mechanical pencil. Onthe other hand, when heat-sensitive paper or electronic paper is used,for example, the electronic pen 10 may be configured as a stylus havingno capability to place ink or graphite on the writing surface.

The electronic pen 10 as a pointing body is configured to include theside switches 10 b and 10 c depicted and a resonance circuit (see FIG. 2described later) which, although not depicted in FIG. 1, plays a role ofextracting operating power from the magnetic field (described later)generated by the digitizer 2 and sending signals to the digitizer 2.Also, the electronic pen 10 is configured to include a side switchinformation acquisition circuit (not depicted) that acquires side switchinformation indicating the ON/OFF state of each of the side switches 10b and 10 c. It should be noted that it is not mandatory to provide sideswitches on the electronic pen 10 and that if they are provided, thenumber thereof may be one or more and is not limited to two.

A further detailed description will be given below of the configurationand functions of the position detection device made up thereof withreference to the internal configurations of the electronic pen 10 andthe digitizer 2.

FIG. 2 illustrates internal configurations of the electronic pen 10 andthe digitizer 2. As illustrated in the same figure, the electronic pen10 is configured to include an LC resonance circuit that includes acapacitor 11 and an inductor 12. On the other hand, the digitizer 2 isconfigured to include a sensor controller 20, the CPU 21, a wirelesscommunication circuit 22, and the memory 23.

The inductor 12 of the electronic pen 10 plays a role of generating aninduced voltage proportional to the magnetic field supplied from thetouch sensor 2 b of the digitizer 2 and charging the capacitor 11. Afterthe supply of a magnetic field from the touch sensor 2 b is halted, theinductor 12 sends a reflection signal to the digitizer 2 using thevoltage stored in the capacitor 11. The reflection signal sent in thismanner includes a continuous signal for position detection, a startsignal indicating the end of the continuous signal, and side switchinformation in this order.

The capacitor 11 is configured such that the capacitance thereof changeswith the force (pen pressure) applied to the pen tip 10 a of theelectronic pen 10 (FIG. 1) from the writing surface. As the capacitanceof the capacitor 11 changes, so does the resonance frequency of theresonance circuit, thus causing the frequency of the reflection signalsent as described above to change with the pen pressure. This change infrequency is used by the digitizer 2 to detect the pen pressure. Adetailed description will be given later.

The sensor controller 20 of the digitizer 2 is configured to have afunction to periodically acquire coordinate data indicating the positionof the electronic pen 10 on the touch sensor 2 b, acquire peninformation of the electronic pen 10 each time coordinate data isacquired, and store coordinate data and pen information in associationin the memory 23.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating internal configurations of the touchsensor 2 b and the sensor controller 20. As illustrated in the samefigure, first, the touch sensor 2 b is configured so that the pluralityof loop coils LC are arranged in a rectangular plane area. Each of theloop coils LC has its one end grounded and its other end connected tothe sensor controller 20. FIG. 3 illustrates 40 loop coils X₁ to X₄₀extending in the y direction depicted and 40 loop coils Y₁ to Y₄₀extending in the x direction orthogonal to the y direction as an exampleof the plurality of loop coils LC. The description will be continuedbelow on the premise that these 80 loop coils X₁ to X₄₀ and Y₁ to Y₄₀are used. However, the number of loop coils LC provided in the touchsensor 2 b is not limited thereto.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the sensor controller 20 is configured toinclude a selection circuit 50, a switch circuit 51, an amplifier 52, adetection circuit 53, a low-pass filter (LPF) 54, a sample-hold circuit(S/H) 55, an analog-digital conversion circuit (A/D) 56, a controller57, an oscillator 58, and a current driver 59.

The other end of each of the loop coils LC is connected to the selectioncircuit 50. The selection circuit 50 is a circuit that selects one or aplurality from among the loop coils X₁ to X₄₀ and Y₁ to Y₄₀ undercontrol of the controller 57 and connects the selected one or ones tothe switch circuit 51.

The switch circuit 51 is a switch with one common terminal and twoselection terminals and is configured to switch between the selectionterminals connected to the common terminal under control of thecontroller 57. The selection circuit 50 is connected to the commonterminal of the switch circuit 51, and the input end of the amplifier 52is connected to one of the selection terminals, and the output end ofthe current driver 59 is connected to the other selection terminal.

The amplifier 52 is a circuit that amplifies the voltage signal suppliedfrom the selection circuit 50 via the switch circuit 51 and outputs theamplified signal to the detection circuit 53. The detection circuit 53is a circuit that generates an envelope signal by detecting the envelopeof the voltage signal output from the amplifier 52 and outputs theenvelope signal to the low-pass filter 54. The low-pass filter 54 playsa role of removing high frequency components from the envelop signalgenerated by the detection circuit 53. The sample-hold circuit 55 isconfigured to perform a sampling operation and a holding operation onthe envelope signal whose high frequency components have been removed bythe low-pass filter 54 at a given time interval. The analog-digitalconversion circuit 56 generates a digital signal by performinganalog-to-digital conversion of the signal held by the sample-holdcircuit 55 and outputs the digital signal to the controller 57.

The controller 57 is a processor that operates in accordance with theprogram stored in the storage device which is not depicted. Theoperation handled by the controller 57 includes a process of controllingthe selection circuit 50, the switch circuit 51, the sample-hold circuit55, and the analog-digital conversion circuit 56 and a process ofacquiring coordinate data and pen information of the electronic pen 10.

The oscillator 58 is configured to generate an alternating current (AC)signal at a given frequency. The current driver 59 plays a role ofconverting an AC signal output from the oscillator 58 into a currentsignal and supplying the current signal to the switch circuit 51.

A specific description will be given of acquisition of coordinate dataand pen information by the controller 57. First, the controller 57connects the other selection terminal of the switch circuit 51(selection terminal connected to the current driver 59) to the commonterminal and causes the selection circuit 50 to select one of the loopcoils X₁ to X₄₀ and Y₁ to Y₄₀. As a result, a magnetic field develops inthe selected loop coil LC because of the current signal output from thecurrent driver 59. It should be noted that although only one loop coilLC is selected here, a total of two coils, one from among the loop coilsX₁ to X₄₀ and one from among the loop coils Y₁ to Y₄₀, for example, maybe selected. Alternatively, a dedicated loop coil for generating amagnetic field may be provided separately from the loop coils X₁ to X₄₀and Y₁ to Y₄₀ along the outer perimeter of the touch sensor 2 b so thatonly the dedicated loop coil is selected in this stage.

When the electronic pen 10 enters the magnetic field that has developedin the loop coil LC, an induced voltage develops in the inductor 12(FIG. 2) of the electronic pen 10, charging the capacitor 11 (FIG. 2) asdescribed above. When a given amount of time elapses after the otherselection terminal of the switch circuit 51 has been connected to thecommon terminal, the controller 57 connects, this time, the oneselection terminal of the switch circuit 51 (selection terminalconnected to the amplifier 52) to the common terminal. As a result, themagnetic field stops developing in the loop coil LC. In responsethereto, the electronic pen 10 initiates the transmission of thereflection signal (signal including a continuous signal, a start signal,and side switch information in this order) described above.

The controller 57 is configured to determine the details of thereflection signal sent by the electronic pen 10 by demodulating thedigital signal supplied from the analog-digital conversion circuit 56.Then, while the electronic pen 10 sends a continuous signal, thecontroller 57 scans the voltage that develops in each of the loop coilsX₁ to X₄₀ and Y₁ to Y₄₀ by continuously switching the loop coil LCselected by the selection circuit 50 from one to the other. The shorterthe distance between the loop coil LC and the electronic pen 10, thelarger the voltage detected in this manner, allowing the controller 57to acquire coordinate data indicating the position of the electronic pen10 from the scanning results.

It should be noted that, to reduce the scanning time, the positiondetection by scanning all the loop coils LC as described above may beconducted only at the first scan (in this case, during the firstposition detection, while the electronic pen 10 is sending a startsignal and pen information, position detection is conducted by regardingthese as continuous signals), and from the second scan and beyond, onlythe loop coils LC located near the previously detected position may bescanned.

On the other hand, while the electronic pen 10 is sending side switchinformation, the controller 57 causes the selection circuit 50 to selectone of the loop coils LC (normally, the loop coil closest to thedetected position of the electronic pen 10) in accordance with thedetected position of the electronic pen 10. Then, the controller 57 isconfigured to acquire side switch information sent by the electronic pen10 from the decoding results of the signal acquired via the loop coil LCselected in this manner.

Here, the frequency of the reflection signal sent by the electronic pen10 changes with the pen pressure as described above. The controller 57is configured to detect the frequency of the reflection signal sent bythe electronic pen 10 and acquire the pen pressure of the electronic pen10 from the detected frequency.

The controller 57 successively accumulates coordinate data and peninformation (pen pressure and side switch information) acquired asdescribed above in the memory 23 depicted in FIG. 2 in association withtimestamp information indicating the time when the acquisition thereofis complete. The memory 23 is configured to manage data on afile-by-file basis, and the controller 57 performs a process ofaccumulating the acquired coordinate data and pen information in thememory 23 by writing these to a file in the memory 23.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the CPU 21 is configured to have a function toperform a process that matches with the pressed state of the operatingbutton 4 and a function to control the lighting states of the LED lamps5 a and 5 b.

The operating button 4 is an operation acceptance means that accepts agiven operation by the user. A description will be given below of theprocesses performed by the CPU 21 in relation to the operating button 4with reference to Table 1 depicted next.

TABLE 1 Mode Condition Operation Scan mode Non-operation continues forSwitch to sleep mode given time period Long pressing of operating Searchfor electronic button 4 detected pen 10 again Short pressing ofoperation Switch file button 4 detected Sleep mode Short pressing ofoperation Switch to scan mode button 4 detected

As illustrated in Table 1, the digitizer 2 has two modes, scan mode andsleep mode. Scan mode is a mode in which the electronic pen 10 issearched for (the position thereof is detected) and coordinate data andpen information of the electronic pen 10 found as a result of the searchis acquired. On the other hand, these are not performed in sleep mode.As illustrated in Table 1, in scan mode, the digitizer 2 switches tosleep mode automatically, i.e., regardless of user operation if anon-operation state (state in which the operating button 4 is notoperated and the electronic pen 10 is not detected) for a given timeperiod (e.g., 30 minutes). When the user presses the operating button 4for a short time (e.g., when the user presses and holds the button forless than 5 seconds) after the digitizer 2 has switched to sleep mode,the CPU 21 switches the digitizer 2 to scan mode.

When the user presses the operating button 4 for a long time (e.g., whenthe user presses and holds the button for 5 seconds or more) with thedigitizer 2 in scan mode, the CPU 21 causes the sensor controller 20 tosearch for the electronic pen 10 again. That is, the CPU 21 causes thesensor controller 20 to perform the position detection (first positiondetection described above) again that is conducted by scanning all theloop coils LC.

On the other hand, when the user presses the operating button 4 for ashort time (e.g., when the user presses and holds the button for lessthan 5 seconds) with the digitizer 2 in scan mode, the CPU 21 performs aprocess that switches the storage destination of coordinate data and soon stored by the sensor controller 20 from the file used up to that time(first area in the memory 23) to a new file (second area in the memory23). As a result, assuming that the user presses the operating button 4without fail when he or she turns over the page of the report sheet P, ahandwritten data file is created for each report sheet P.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a handwritten data file created in thismanner. As illustrated in the same figure, the sensor controller 20successively outputs data that includes coordinate data (X,Y), the penpressure P, the side switch information SW1 and SW2, and timestampinformation time (this data will be hereinafter referred to as “unithandwritten data”). It should be noted that the side switch informationSW1 and SW2 corresponds to the side switches 10 b and 10 c (FIG. 1) ofthe electronic pen 10, respectively. Output unit handwritten data isstored in a file in the memory 23. In response to the pressing of theoperating button 4, however, the file that has been storing unithandwritten data up to that time (e.g., file #1) is closed, and a newstorage file (e.g., file #2) is created anew. Timestamp information timethat corresponds to the latest unit handwritten data included therein isassociated with each file. This makes it possible for the computer 30 orthe like to find out about the writing order between the files when itrefers to each file later.

Referring back to FIG. 2, each of the LED lamps 5 a and 5 b is alight-emitting element and functions as a notification means having auser notification function. A detailed description will be given belowof controlling of the lighting states of the LED lamps 5 a and 5 b bythe CPU 21 with reference to Table 2 depicted next.

TABLE 2 Condition Priority Control Target Lighting State No spaceremaining in 1 5a Flashing amber the memory 23 5b Flashing greenRemaining charge of 2 5a Flashing amber built-in battery drops to givenlevel or less Charging built-in 5a Lit amber battery Sleep mode 3 5aUnlit 5b Unlit Searching for 5b Flashing green electronic pen 10Acquiring unit 5b Lit light green handwritten data (pen-up state, but nodata stored in file that is accumulating data) Acquiring unit 5bFlashing green handwritten data (pen-down state) Acquiring unit 5bFlashing light green handwritten data slowly (pen-up state, but datastored in file that is accumulating data) Switching between 5b Flashinglight green files fast (3 times)

Table 2 illustrates control conditions, priorities for controllinglighting, LED lamps to be controlled, and controlled lighting states. Asillustrated in the same table, first if there is no space remaining inthe memory 23, the CPU 21 causes the LED lamp 5 a to flash amber and theLED lamp 5 b to flash green. This lighting state can have a significantimpact on the user, and the user can find out, at the sight of thelighting state, that new handwritten data cannot be stored in the memory23. In this case, the user causes the wireless communication circuit 22,which will be described later, to send the file, stored in the memory23, to the computer 30, for example, by performing an operation on thecomputer 30. This makes it possible to reserve free space in the memory23. It should be noted that this lighting control is performed withpriority over other types of lighting control which will be describedbelow.

If the remaining charge of the battery built into the digitizer 2 dropsto a given level or less, the CPU 21 causes the LED lamp 5 a to flashamber. If the battery built into the digitizer 2 is being charged, theCPU 21 also causes the LED lamp 5 a to flash amber. As a result, theuser can recognize the need to charge the built-in battery and that thebuilt-in battery is being charged by referring to the LED lamp 5 a. Itshould be noted that these lighting control tasks are not performed ifthere is no space remaining in the memory 23.

Next, when the digitizer 2 is in sleep mode, the CPU 21 extinguishesboth of the LED lamps 5 a and 5 b. On the other hand, when the digitizer2 is in scan mode, the CPU 21 controls the lighting state of the LEDlamp 5 b as follows. That is, first when the electronic pen 10 is beingsearched for, the CPU 21 causes the LED lamp 5 b to flash green (firstcolor). Also, when the acquisition of unit handwritten data is underwayafter the search of the electronic pen 10 has ended, and the electronicpen 10 is in a pen-up state, and not a single piece of unit handwrittendata has been stored in the file that is currently accumulating unithandwritten data, the CPU 21 causes the LED lamp 5 b to light up lightgreen (second color). Further, when the acquisition of unit handwrittendata is underway, and the electronic pen 10 is in a pen-down state, theCPU 21 causes the LED lamp 5 b to light up green. Then, when theacquisition of unit handwritten data is underway, and the electronic pen10 is in a pen-up state, and one or more pieces of unit handwritten dataare stored in the file that is currently accumulating unit handwrittendata, the CPU 21 causes the LED lamp 5 b to flash light green slowly.Finally, when the target storage file is switched after the operatingbutton 4 has been pressed, the CPU 21 causes the LED lamp 5 b to flashlight green fast only three times. It should be noted that as for thedetermination as to whether the electronic pen 10 is in a pen-up stateor pen-down state, the CPU 21 monitors the pen pressure included in thepen information output from the sensor controller 20 and determines thatthe electronic pen 10 is in a “pen-up state” when the pen pressure is 0and that the electronic pen 10 is in a “pen-down state” in any othercase.

What is particularly important in controlling the lighting state of theLED lamp 5 b in scan mode is to cause the LED lamp 5 b to flash slowly.In this case, one or more pieces of unit handwritten data are stored inthe file that is accumulating the data. Moreover, considering the factthat the electronic pen 10 is in a pen-up state, there is a possibilitythat the user may intend to terminate writing on a certain page and moveto the next page. For this reason, the CPU 21 causes the LED lamp 5 b toflash light green slowly, a characteristic lighting state, calling theuser's attention by insinuating, “Are you sure you do not want to changethe file for accumulating unit handwritten data?” If the user reallyintends to change pages, the user whose attention has been called by thelighting state needs only to switch the file by pressing the operatingbutton 4.

A more detailed description will be given again of the lighting controlof the LED lamp 5 b with reference to the processing flow of the CPU 21.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the processing flow of the CPU 21relating to lighting control of the LED lamp 5 b. It should be notedthat FIG. 5 partially depicts another processing task (S6 a which willbe described later). The processing flow depicted in the same figure isperiodically repeated by the CPU 21.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the CPU 21 determines first whether there isno space remaining in the memory 23 (S1). As a result, if there is nospace remaining in the memory 23, the CPU 21 causes the LED lamp 5 b toflash green (S2). On the other hand, when there is space remaining inthe memory 23, the CPU 21 determines next whether the digitizer 2 is insleep mode (S3). As a result, when the digitizer 2 is in sleep mode, theCPU 21 extinguishes the LED lamp 5 b (S4). On the other hand, when thedigitizer 2 is not in sleep mode, the CPU 21 determines whether theoperating button 4 was pressed (S5). As a result, when the operatingbutton 4 was pressed, the CPU 21 causes the LED lamp 5 b to flash lightgreen fast three times (S6). At this time, the CPU 21 also performs aprocess that switches the storage destination of unit handwritten datastored by the sensor controller 20 from the file used up to then to anew file (S6 a).

When the operating button 4 was not pressed at S5, the CPU 21 determinesnext whether the sensor controller 20 is searching for the electronicpen 10 (S7). As a result, when the sensor controller 20 is searching forthe electronic pen 10, the CPU 21 causes the LED lamp 5 b to flash green(S8). On the other hand, when the sensor controller 20 is not searchingfor the electronic pen 10, the CPU 21 determines next whether theelectronic pen 10 is in a pen-down state (S9). This determination ismade by monitoring the pen pressure output from the sensor controller 20as described above. When the electronic pen 10 is in a pen-down state asa result of the determination, the CPU 21 causes the LED lamp 5 b tolight up green (third notification; S10). On the other hand, when theelectronic pen 10 is not in a pen-down state, the CPU 21 determineswhether unit handwritten data is already stored in the file that isaccumulating the data (S11). As a result, when unit handwritten data isnot already stored in the file, the CPU 21 causes the LED lamp 5 b tolight up light green (second notification; S12). When unit handwrittendata is stored in the file, the CPU 21 causes the LED lamp 5 b to flashlight green slowly (first notification; S13).

As the CPU 21 controls lighting of the LED lamp 5 b as described above,it is possible to issue, to the user, a notification to the effect: “Areyou sure you do not want to change the file for accumulating unithandwritten data?,” when the user intends to terminate writing on acertain page and move to the next page as described above.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the wireless communication circuit 22, inoperation, sends the file accumulated in the memory 23 to the computer30 through wireless communication. The file transmission by the wirelesscommunication circuit 22 may be conducted in response to a useroperation on the digitizer 2 or in response to reception of atransmission instruction from the computer 30. In the latter case, thecomputer 30 may send a transmission instruction to the digitizer 2 inresponse to a user operation on the computer 30. Also, the wirelesscommunication circuit 22 may automatically send the file when thedigitizer 2 and the computer 30 approach each other to a distance ofpossible communication. Specifically, for example, Bluetooth (registeredtrademark) is suitable for use as the above wireless communication.However, other communication standards such as Wi-Fi (registeredtrademark) and NFC (registered trademark) can also be used.

It should be noted that although the wireless communication circuit 22according to the present embodiment sends handwritten data on afile-by-file basis, the wireless communication circuit 22 may sendhandwritten data every time one coordinate set worth of handwritten datais accumulated in the memory 23 by the sensor controller 20. This makesit possible to display handwritten data on the touch screen 31 of thecomputer 30 in realtime. This is also effective when handwritten data isdisplayed on electronic paper as a paper medium as described in PatentDocuments 2 and 3. It should be noted that when the operating button 4is pressed, the wireless communication circuit 22 preferably notifiesthe computer 30 to that effect. This makes it possible for the computer30 side to have the file switching function that is possessed by the CPU21 in the present embodiment.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the computer 30 will be described next. Thecomputer 30 is a tablet computer and is configured to include the touchscreen 31 and an operating button 32. The computer 30 includes a CPU 34and a storage or memory device 35, and the operation of the computer 30described below is performed as the CPU 34 operates in accordance withthe program stored in the storage or memory device 35. Also, the touchscreen 31 is configured to detect user touch operations (including tapoperations and slide operations), and the computer 30 is configured toperform an operation that matches with the user operation detected bythe touch screen 31 and the pressed state of the operating button 32.

It should be noted that although a case will be described in the presentembodiment in which a tablet computer is used as the computer 30, thecomputer 30 as a component of the handwritten data capture device 1 maynot necessarily be a tablet computer and may be, for example, a desktopor laptop computer. Also, as depicted in FIG. 1, it is not mandatory tocontain the computer 30 and the digitizer 2 in the single notebook typecover 40. Also, electronic paper as a paper medium placed on thedigitizer 2 may have functions as the computer 30. Also, the computer 30may be configured to perform an operation that matches with operationusing a mouse or keyboard together with or rather than user touchoperation.

FIG. 2 also illustrates the internal configuration of the computer 30.As illustrated in the same figure, the computer 30 is configured toinclude a wireless communication circuit 32, a CPU 34, and a memory 35therein.

The wireless communication circuit 32, in operation, receives a seriesof handwritten data from the digitizer 2 and supplies the data to theCPU 34. The CPU 34 is configured to create stroke data, drawing vectordata, based on the series of handwritten data supplied in this mannerand store the data in the memory 35.

FIG. 4 also illustrates a specific example of data stored in the memory35 by the CPU 34. As illustrated in the same figure, the CPU 34 performsa process of combining one or more pieces of unit handwritten datastored in each file into stroke-by-stroke data (stroke data).

How specifically stroke data is created will be described. In order tocreate stroke data from a series of unit handwritten data, it isnecessary to determine breaks between strokes. The CPU 34 determinesthese breaks by referring to the pen pressure in each piece of unithandwritten data. That is, unit handwritten data whose associated penpressure is zero is data that was acquired when the electronic pen 10was in a pen-up state and, therefore, does not contribute tohandwriting. For this reason, the CPU 34 excludes such unit handwrittendata from data from which to create stroke data and determines that theportion that includes the excluded unit handwritten data is a breakbetween strokes. Then, the CPU 34 creates a piece of stroke data from aset of one or more pieces of unit handwritten data identified by thisbreak.

When creating stroke data, the CPU 34 assigns order information to eachpiece of a series of stroke data created by referring to the timestampinformation of each piece of the unit handwritten data. As a result, thestroke data in the file stored in the memory 35 is sequenced in thewriting order. In the example depicted in FIG. 4, the data marked “ordern” (where n is a natural number) is order information, and naturalnumber ‘n’ indicates the writing order.

Thus, the CPU 34 of the present disclosure retains each piece of strokedata as vector data together with the writing order without rasterizingthe handwritten data (changing into pixel data). As a result, the CPU 34retains the stroke data in the memory 35 in such a manner that thestroke data based on the writing order can be identified in the processwhich will be described later.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the CPU 34 is configured to have a function toextract the file stored in the memory 35, perform a process of drawingeach piece of stroke data included in the file, and display the drawingresults on the touch screen 31 and a function to recognize a user touchoperation on the touch screen 31 and perform a process that matches withthe details thereof.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a block diagram of the CPU 34. Asillustrated in the same figure, the CPU 34 is configured to include astroke data acquisition circuit 60, a display circuit 61, a breakposition input acceptance circuit 62, a continuous portionidentification circuit 63, a redisplay circuit 64, a confirmationacceptance circuit 65, and a page or the like creation circuit 66.

The stroke data acquisition circuit 60, in operation, acquires a seriesof stroke data included in data corresponding to one page from thememory 35. In this example, data corresponding to one page is includedin one file. The term “one page” here may be one of a plurality ofsections included in a certain file. Also, each of the pages or sectionsmay be a specific area in the file specified by a start byte positionand an end byte position or may be that which is extracted from the fileby a break code. In the description given below, the expression “page orthe like” may be used to refer to a page or section. The display circuit61 performs a given process of drawing all the series of stroke dataacquired by the stroke data acquisition circuit 60 and displays theresults thereof on the touch screen 31 (display device).

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the touch screen31 that accepts a display process performed by the display circuit 61.In the example depicted in the same figure, it is assumed that the pageor the like to be displayed includes two pages worth of stroke data ofthe report sheets P, i.e., a stroke data group G1 made up of eightpieces of stroke data indicating “123456” (note: each of “4” and “5”contains two strokes) and a stroke data group G2 made up of nine piecesof stroke data indicating “abcdefg” (note: each of “b” and “f” containstwo strokes). It is also assumed that the writing order of these piecesof stroke data (writing order indicated by order information) is thefirst strokes of “1,” “2,” “3,” and “4,” the second stroke of “4,” thefirst stroke of “5,” the second stroke of “5,” the first strokes of “6,”“a,” and “b,” the second stroke of “b,” the first strokes of “c,” “d,”“e,” and “f,” the second stroke of “f,” and “g.” The user recognizesthat he or she wrote the stroke data group G1 and the stroke data groupG2 on different pages. However, the user forgot to press the operatingbutton 4 when changing pages. Therefore, the two stroke data groups areincluded in the single page or the like. As a result, “123456” and“abcdefg” are displayed overlapping each other on one screen asillustrated in FIG. 7.

Referring back to FIG. 6, the break position input acceptance circuit62, in operation, accepts break position inputs of the series of strokedata acquired by the stroke data acquisition circuit 60. Break positionscorrespond to page breaks or section breaks.

Also, as depicted in FIG. 7, the break position input acceptance circuit62 is configured to display a touch button 70 for causing the user toissue an instruction to switch to page edit mode. When this touch button70 is tapped by the user, the break position input acceptance circuit 62erases the touch button 70 and displays, anew, a slider 71 (first userinterface) for causing the user to specify a break position and a touchbutton 74 (second user interface) for causing the user to perform anoperation to confirm the break position as illustrated in FIG. 8.

The configurations of the touch button 70, the slider 71, and the touchbutton 74 will be described specifically. First, both the touch buttons70 and 74 are buttons for accepting a user tap operation. FIGS. 7 and 8illustrate examples in which both of the touch buttons have arectangular area marked “Create Page.” It should be noted, however, thatit is not mandatory for the touch buttons 70 and 74 to have the sameconfiguration in this manner.

The slider 71 is originally a graphical user interface (GUI) thataccepts an input value having a single value that falls within a certainrange. In the present embodiment, the piece of stroke data having themost recent writing order of all the pieces of stroke data associatedwith a certain acquired page or the like is associated with the maximumvalue of the range of the slider 71, and the piece of stroke data havingthe least recent writing order is associated with the minimum value. Inother words, the slider 71 is configured to start from the one writtenfirst of a series of stroke data acquired by the stroke data acquisitioncircuit 60 and ends at the one written last of the one or plurality ofpieces of stroke data. Then, the input value of the slider 71 is used tochange the break position between stroke data that is displayed andstroke data that is not displayed. That is, the slider 71 causes theuser to input one of the values in the range having its maximum valueassociated with the most recent writing order of the writing orders ofthe series of stroke data and having its minimum value associated withthe least recent writing order of the writing orders of the series ofstroke data. Also, the slider 71 includes a handle 72 that is configuredto move along the slider 71 by a user slide operation. The handle 72 isa GUI element for operating the slider 71 and is one element of theslider 71 that is also called control or knob. It should be noted thatthe handle 72 may not be in a special shape and may be an edge portionof a bar that is distinguished by a given color. As illustrated in FIGS.9 and 10 which will be described later, the slider 71 may be highlightedstarting from its starting point to the handle 72, for example, by boldtype. The position of the handle 72 along the slider 71 indicates thebreak position, and the break position input acceptance circuit 62 isconfigured to accept break position input based on the position of thehandle 72 along the slider 71.

The slider 71 is further configured to include one or more ticks 73 eachof which is in one-to-one correspondence with one of a series of strokedata acquired by the stroke data acquisition circuit 60. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 8, the stroke data groups G1 and G2 to be displayedhave seventeen pieces of stroke data. Therefore, the slider 71 has the17 ticks 73. Although the ticks 73 are suitably provided at equalintervals, timestamp information may be associated with each piece ofstroke data in the file in the memory 35 so that the position of each ofthe ticks 73 along the slider 71 is determined based on the timestampinformation. The interval between the ticks 73 varies depending on thenumber of pieces of stroke data to be displayed.

The handle 72 is suitably configured to move to the position equivalentto the tick 73 and configured not to stop at any other location alongthe slider 71. That is, the displacement of the handle 72 is suitablyconfigured such that when the user moves the handle 72 by a slideoperation, the handle 72 does not move smoothly and instead movesawkwardly as if to jump from one tick 73 to another and always moves tothe position of each tick 73 corresponding to each piece of the strokedata. It should be noted, however, that the handle 72 may be naturallyconfigured to move smoothly in response to a user slide operation.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate display examples when the user moves thehandle 72 by a slide operation at the sight of the display depicted inFIG. 8. In the example illustrated in FIG. 9, the user has moved thehandle 72 to the fourth tick 73 from right. In this case, the strokedata equivalent to “e” corresponds to the break position. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 10, on the other hand, the user has moved the handle72 to the tenth tick 73 from right. In this case, the stroke dataequivalent to “6” corresponds to the break position.

Referring back to FIG. 6, the continuous portion identification circuit63 is configured to identify a continuous portion of a series of strokedata based on the break position acquired by the break position inputacceptance circuit 62 and the writing order of the series of stroke data(writing order indicated by order information stored in the file)acquired by the stroke data acquisition circuit 60. More specificallyspeaking, the continuous portion identification circuit 63 identifiesbreak position-corresponding stroke data that corresponds to a breakposition from among a series of stroke data and further identifies,based on the writing order, a first portion that includes the strokedata written least recently of the series of stroke data and breakposition-corresponding stroke data and a second portion other than thefirst portion, and treats the first portion as a continuous portion.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 9, fourteen pieces of stroke datacorresponding to “123456abcde” are identified by the continuous portionidentification circuit 63. Also, in the example illustrated in FIG. 10,eight pieces of stroke data corresponding to “123456” are identified bythe continuous portion identification circuit 63.

The redisplay circuit 64 is configured to have a function to rewrite thedisplay of the touch screen 31 by drawing the continuous portionidentified by the continuous portion identification 63 in the writingorder. As a result, only one or more pieces of stroke data making up thecontinuous portion identified by the continuous portion identificationcircuit 63 are displayed on the touch screen 31, and other stroke datais no longer displayed as illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10. Therefore, theuser can confirm the currently identified stroke data with his or herown eyes.

After the redisplay by the redisplay circuit 64, the break positioninput acceptance circuit 62 leaves the slider 71 displayed asillustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10. Therefore, each time the user moves thehandle 72, the processes by the break position input acceptance circuit62, the continuous portion identification circuit 63, and the redisplaycircuit 64 are repeated. As a result, the user can realize anappropriately identified state of stroke data (e.g., the state in whichonly the stroke data group G1 corresponding to “123456” written on thefirst page as illustrated in FIG. 10 is identified in the examplesillustrated in FIGS. 7 to 10).

Referring back to FIG. 6, the confirmation acceptance circuit 65, inoperation, accepts a break position confirmation operation. Thisconfirmation operation is specifically a tap operation on the touchbutton 74 (refer to FIG. 10). The page or the like creation circuit 66is configured to create a first page based on one or more pieces ofstroke data being displayed on the touch screen 31 at that time andcreate a second page based on the remaining one or more pieces of strokedata of the series of stroke data that was initially displayed (seriesof stroke data acquired by the stroke data acquisition circuit 60) whenbreak position confirmation operation is accepted by the confirmationacceptance circuit 65 and when the break position is a page break, andcreate a first section based on the one or more pieces of stroke databeing displayed on the touch screen 31 at that time and create a secondsection based on the remaining one or more pieces of stroke data of theseries of stroke data that was initially displayed (series of strokedata acquired by the stroke data acquisition circuit 60) when the breakposition is a section break. For example, when the user taps the touchbutton 74 in the example illustrated in FIG. 10, the page or the likecreation circuit 66 creates a first page (or first section) includingeight pieces of stroke data each corresponding to “123456” and a secondpage (or second section) including nine pieces of stroke data eachcorresponding to “abcdefg.”

FIG. 4 illustrates another example in which a page is created by thepage or the like creation circuit 66. In this example, a first page iscreated by stroke data up to the seventh piece of m pieces of strokedata included in a file #1, and a second page is created by stroke datafrom the eighth piece and beyond.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, each of the pages created by the page or thelike creation circuit 66 is stored in the memory 35 as a file. Morespecifically, stroke data from the eighth piece and beyond is deletedfrom the file #1, and the file is saved as a new file #1 (first file).Stroke data from the eighth piece and beyond is stored in a file #1-1(second file) that is created anew. In contrast, when the page or thelike creation circuit 66 creates a section, a file includes a pluralityof sections.

The page or the like creation circuit 66 is configured to associate eachof the first and second pages or the like that have been created anewwith order information indicating the creation order of the pages or thelike. This order information is specifically timestamps. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 4, timestamp information T_(1n) that was associatedwith the file #1 before the process is associated with the file #1-1that has been created anew, and time slightly earlier than the timeindicated by the timestamp information T_(1n) (denoted by T_(1n)-α inFIG. 4) that was associated with the file #1 before the process isassociated with the file #1 after the process. A “slightly earlier” timeis an idea for indicating that the file #1 was created earlier than thefile #1-1 and for ensuring that if there is a file (not depicted) thatwas created before the file #1, the time of creation of that file is notlater than the time of creation of the file #1.

It should be noted that order information associated with each file mayspecifically not include the filename of each file or may be attached toeach file as metadata. According to the former, it is easy for the userto visually recognize order information, and according to the latter, itis easy for computers to handle order information.

After a new page or the like is created by the page or the like creationcircuit 66, a series of stroke data is acquired again by the stroke dataacquisition circuit 60. FIG. 11 illustrates a display example of thetouch screen 31 after the user taps the touch button 74 in FIG. 10. Thisdisplay example is obtained as a result of access made to the page orthe like corresponding to “123456” and acquisition of eight pieces ofstroke data included therein by the stroke data acquisition circuit 60.It should be noted that the touch button 70 (FIG. 7) is displayed by thedisplay circuit 61 immediately after the acquisition of a series ofstroke data by the stroke data acquisition circuit 60 as described aboveand that FIG. 11 illustrates the state after the user tapped this touchbutton 70. In FIG. 11, because the number of pieces of stroke data beingdisplayed is eight, the number of ticks 73 displayed along the slider 71is also eight. The process performed when the user slides the handle 72or taps the touch button 74 in the screen displayed in this manner isthe same as described above.

It should be noted that, for example, when the user taps near the rightedge of the touch screen 31, the CPU 34 may cause the stroke dataacquisition circuit 60 to acquire a series of stroke data included inthe page or the like (hereinafter denoted as “A”) associated with thecreation time subsequent to the page or the like being displayed so asto switch the page or the like being displayed to “A” and when the usertaps near the left edge of the touch screen 31, the CPU 34 may cause thestroke data acquisition circuit 60 to acquire a series of stroke dataincluded in the page or the like (hereinafter denoted as “B”) associatedwith the creation time previous to the page or the like being displayedso as to switch the page or the like being displayed to “B.” This makesit possible for the user to confirm the details of an arbitrary page orthe like on his or her own will.

As described above, the CPU 34 allows the user to input stroke dataidentification information and repetitively and selectively display andconfirm only those pieces of stroke data which should correspond to aspecific page of the series of stroke data that is displayed together atfirst in accordance with the input stroke data identificationinformation. Then, a page or the like including only one or more piecesof selectively displayed stroke data and a page or the like includingonly other stroke data can be created. Also, the CPU 34 requiresabsolutely no barcode printed on a paper medium or IC chips embedded ina paper medium and needs no turn-over detection function. Therefore, itcan be said that the handwritten data capture device 1 according to thepresent embodiment has realized, by a retroactive software-based means,the creation of page-by-page handwritten data (set of one or more piecesof stroke data) from handwriting written on each page of ageneral-purpose paper medium including a plurality of pages.

The processes performed by the CPU 34 will be described again in moredetail with reference to the processing flow of the CPU 34.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of the CPU 34. Asillustrated in the same figure, the CPU 34 acquires a series of strokedata from a certain page in the memory 35 (S22) in response to a userinstruction to display handwritten data (S21). Pages or the like fromwhich stroke data is acquired can be preferably specified by the user.

Next, the CPU 34 draws all the series of stroke data acquired anddisplays the data on the touch screen 31 (S23). Thereafter, the CPU 34accepts a user instruction to switch to page edit mode (tapping of thetouch button 70 illustrated in FIG. 7) (S24). Then, when the userinstruction to switch to page edit mode is accepted, the CPU 34 displaysa slider (slider 71, handle 72, and ticks 73 illustrated in FIG. 8) andan acceptance button for break position confirmation operation (touchbutton 74 illustrated in FIG. 8) (S25).

Thereafter, the CPU 34 repeats a series of processes (S30) consisting ofacquiring the current slider position (S26), accepting a break positioninput based on the current position acquired (S27), identifying thecontinuous portion of the series of stroke data based on the input breakposition and writing order (S28), and rewriting the display of the touchscreen 31 using the identified continuous portion (S29) until the userperforms break position confirmation operation. Then, when breakposition confirmation operation is performed, the CPU 34 erases theslider and the acceptance button for break position confirmationoperation (S31), deletes stroke data that does not belong to thecontinuous portion identified in S28 that was performed last from thepage or the like being displayed and modifies the timestamp of the pageor the like to a timestamp at a slightly earlier time, and furthercreates a page or the like anew that includes all the stroke datadeleted and associates that page or the like with the timestamp of thepage or the like being displayed (timestamp before the modification)(S32). As a result, the page or the like being displayed is dividedbetween the break position (stroke data) identified by the currentslider position acquired last at S26 and the stroke data subsequentthereto. Thereafter, the processes from S22 and beyond are repeated.

As described above, the handwritten data capture device 1 according tothe present embodiment allows the LED lamp 5 b to flash light greenslowly at a time considered a page break, making it possible to preventone from forgetting to press the operating button 4 for changing thestorage destination file of handwritten data.

Also, the handwritten data capture device 1 according to the presentembodiment allows the user to display only those pieces of stroke datawhich correspond to a specific page of the series of stroke data that isdisplayed together at first by inputting stroke data identificationinformation. That is, it is possible to identify one or more pieces ofstroke data corresponding to a specific page by a software-based means.Therefore, the handwritten data capture device 1 according to thepresent embodiment further allows for proper classification ofhandwritten data page by page after the acquisition of handwritingwritten on each page of a general-purpose paper medium including aplurality of pages.

Although preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have beendescribed above, the present disclosure is in no way limited by theseembodiments, and it is a matter of course that the present disclosurecan be carried out in various forms without departing from the gist ofthe present disclosure.

For example, although an example was described in the above embodimentin which a linear slider 71 (FIG. 8) was used as a first user interfacefor causing the user to specify a page break, a slider formed, forexample, in a curved shape such as the circular slider 71 illustrated inFIG. 13 may be used. Also, although an example was depicted in the aboveembodiment in which the touch button 74 was displayed at the top rightcorner of the touch screen 31 as a second user interface for causing theuser to perform page break confirmation operation, the arrangement ofthe second user interface is not limited to the top right corner of thetouch screen 31 as the touch button 74 illustrated in FIG. 13, forexample.

Moreover, the handle 72 of the slider 71 can be used as a second userinterface rather than the touch button 74. In this case, theconfirmation acceptance circuit 65 suitably accepts a break positionconfirmation operation as the user continues to tap (continues to pressand hold) the handle 72 for a given time period.

Also, although each of the ticks 73 displayed along the slider 71 wasconfigured to be in one-to-one correspondence with one of a series ofstroke data acquired by the stroke data acquisition circuit 60, theticks 73 can be configured to be in multi-to-one correspondence with oneof the series of stroke data. This makes it possible for the user todistinguish one tick 73 from another even if the number of pieces ofstroke data making up the series of stroke data is extremely large.

In this case, the scale of the slider 71 can be preferably increased bythe user pressing and holding the handle 72 or the slider 71 for a giventime period or more. That is, assuming that the tick 73 displayedinitially when the stroke data acquisition circuit 60 acquires a seriesof stroke data is a first tick, and when the handle 72 or the slider 71is pressed and held for a given time period or more by the user, one ormore first ticks are preferably replaced by one or more second tickseach of which is in multi-to-one or one-to-one correspondence with oneof a group of stroke data having smaller number of pieces than the groupof the stroke data, the group of stroke data corresponding to thepressed position and its nearby area. This makes it possible for theuser to insert finely spaced break positions on astroke-data-by-stroke-data basis even if the number of pieces of strokedata making up the series of stroke data is extremely large.

A specific description will be given of the following respects withreference to FIGS. 14 and 15. FIG. 14 illustrates a state in which thesame stroke data as in FIG. 8 is displayed on the touch screen 31.However, because two pieces of stroke data are assigned to the singletick 73, the number of ticks 73 is half that in the example illustratedin FIG. 8 (it should be noted that because the number of pieces ofstroke data is odd or 17, the number of ticks 73 is, to be precise, halfthat in FIG. 8 plus 1). Describing specific assignments, “1” and “2” areassigned to a tick A illustrated, “3” and the first stroke of “4” areassigned to a tick B, the second stroke of “4” and the first stroke of“5” are assigned to a tick C, the second stroke of “5” and “6” areassigned to a tick D, “a” and the first stroke of “b” are assigned to atick E, the second stroke of “b” and “c” are assigned to a tick F, “d”and “e” are assigned to a tick G, the first and second strokes of “f”are assigned to a tick H, and “g” is assigned to a tick I. In this case,when the user presses, for example, an area near circled “E” illustratedin FIG. 14 long, the number of pieces of stroke data assigned to onetick 73 is reduced, for example, to 1. In the example illustrated inFIG. 14, for example, the second stroke of “4” is assigned to the tickA, the first stroke of “5” is assigned to the tick B, the second strokeof “5” is assigned to the tick C, “6” is assigned to the tick D, “a” isassigned to the tick E, the first stroke of “b” is assigned to the tickF, the second stroke of “b” is assigned to the tick G, “c” is assignedto the tick H, and “d” is assigned to the tick I. This makes it possiblefor the user to specify a break position only within the range from thesecond stroke of “4” to “d” but specify finely spaced break positions ona stroke-data-by-stroke-data basis.

Also, the pointer 74 illustrated in FIG. 15 may be provided along theslider 71 in addition to the handle 72 and the memory 73. This pointer74 is displayed near the slider 71 to present the user with a candidateposition that serves as a candidate for break position. Candidatepositions are derived by the break position input acceptance circuit 62.

There are two possible ways for the break position input acceptancecircuit 62 to derive a candidate position. The first one can be usedwhen a timestamp indicating a writing time is attached to each of aseries of stroke data included in a page or the like, and a candidateposition is derived based on the difference between times indicated bytimestamps of two pieces of stroke data that are adjacent in writingorder. With this method, it is possible to calculate, as a candidateposition, a position where the user is highly likely to have changedpages because of a time difference that is large to a certain extent ormore such as more-than-one-day-old timestamp.

The second one derives a candidate position based on the displacement ofone of first and second directions (vertical and horizontal directionsof the rectangular writing surface) that are orthogonal to each other onthe writing surface between two pieces of stroke data that are adjacentin writing order. With this method, it is possible to calculate, as acandidate position, a line start position and so on that should mark theposition or section where the user is highly likely to have changedpages such as handwriting jumping from bottom to top of a page and aline start position in horizontal writing.

Also, the first and second user interfaces can be realized by hardwarebuttons. FIG. 16 illustrates such first and second user interfaces. Thehandwritten data capture device 1 illustrated in the same figure has, atone end of the digitizer 2, a stop/confirm button B1 with a rectangle, aforward button B2 with a triangle to the right, a fast forward button B3with two triangles pointing to the right, a back button B4 with atriangle pointing to the left, and a rewind button B5 with two trianglespointing to the left. All these buttons make up the first userinterface, and the button B1 also serves as the second user interface.It should be noted that the pressed state of each of the buttons B1 toB5 is successively notified from the digitizer 2 to the computer 30.

When the user presses the back button B4 once, the break position inputacceptance circuit 62 acquires stroke data identification informationthat identifies the stroke data that is previous in writing order to thestroke data identified by the stroke data identification informationthat was acquired last. On the other hand, when the user presses theforward button B2 once, the break position input acceptance circuit 62acquires stroke data identification information that identifies thestroke data that is subsequent in writing order to the stroke dataidentified by the stroke data identification information that wasacquired last. The fast forward button B3 and the rewind button B5 arebuttons that automatically produce the same effects as when the forwardbutton B2 and the back button B4 are pressed in succession (fast forwardand rewind), respectively. Fast forwarding and rewinding stop when thestop/confirm button B1 is pressed while fast forwarding or rewindingstop is in progress. When the user presses the stop/confirm button B1while fast forwarding and rewinding are not in progress, page breakconfirmation operation is accepted by the confirmation acceptancecircuit 65. As each of the buttons B1 to B5 plays the role as describedabove, the handwritten data capture device 1 illustrated in FIG. 16 cancreate page-by-page handwritten data as does the handwritten datacapture device 1 described in the above embodiment.

Also, although, in the above embodiment, the continuous portionidentification circuit 63 identified a first portion including breakposition-corresponding stroke data as a continuous portion, a secondportion not including break position-corresponding stroke data may beidentified as a continuous portion. Also, although stroke data writtenleast recently was included in a first portion, stroke data written mostrecently may be included in a first portion.

Also, although, in the above embodiment, the LED lamp 5 a was amber andthe LED lamp 5 b was green or light green, this is illustrative, and theactual colors of the LED lamps 5 a and 5 b are arbitrary. The colors ofthe LED lamps 5 a and 5 b are preferably determined as appropriate inconsideration of ergonomics to ensure that proper impacts are made onthe user. The same is true for the lighting states and the flashingmethod of the LED lamps 5 a and 5 b. Further, similar notification maybemade by sound, vibration, and so on in place of or together with the LEDlamps 5 a and 5 b in consideration of visually handicapped users.

Also, although, in the above embodiment, LED lamps were used as anotification means having a user notification function, “sound” or“flashing icons on the tablet screen” can be used as a notificationmeans in place of or together with LED lamps.

Also, although, in the above embodiment, an example was described inwhich an EMR-based position detection device was used, the presentdisclosure is also suitably applicable to a type of position detectiondevice that sends signals to a position detector from a pointing bodybased, for example, on AES (Active Electrostatic) method having abattery.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE SYMBOLS

-   1: Handwritten data capture device-   2: Digitizer-   2 a: Front face of the digitizer 2-   2 b: Touch sensor-   3: Clip-   4: Operating button-   5 a, 5 b: LED lamps-   10: Electronic pen-   10 a: Pen tip-   10 b, 10 c: Side switches-   11: Capacitor-   12: Inductor-   20: Sensor controller-   21: Input/output module-   22: Wireless communication circuit-   23: Memory-   30: Computer-   31: Touch screen-   32: Operating button-   33: CPU-   34: CPU-   35: Memory-   40: Notebook type cover-   50: Selection circuit-   51: Switch circuit-   52: Amplifier-   53: Detection circuit-   54: Low-pass filter-   55: Sample-hold circuit-   56: Analog-digital conversion circuit-   57: Controller-   58: Oscillator-   59: Current driver-   60: Stroke data acquisition circuit-   61: Display circuit-   62: Break position input acceptance circuit-   63: Continuous portion identification circuit-   64: Redisplay circuit-   65: Confirmation acceptance circuit-   66: Page or the like creation circuit-   70, 74: Touch buttons-   71: Slider-   72: Handle-   73: Ticks-   B1: Stop/confirm button-   B2: Forward button-   B3: Fast forward button-   B4: Back button-   B5: Rewind button-   G1, G2: Stroke data groups-   LC: Loop coils-   P: Report sheets

1. A user notification method performed by a handwritten data capturedevice, the user notification method comprising: determining whether apointing body is in a pen-up state or a pen-down state; determiningwhether coordinate data of the pointing body on a touch sensor of thehandwritten data capture device is already stored in a first area of amemory; making a first user notification in response to determining thatthe coordinate data is already stored in the first area of the memoryand that the pointing body is in the pen-up state; and switching astorage destination of the coordinate data to a second area of thememory that is different from the first area in response to accepting agiven user operation.
 2. The user notification method of claim 1,further comprising: making a second user notification that is differentfrom the first user notification in response to determining that thepointing body is not in the pen-down state and that the coordinate datais not already stored in the first area of the memory.
 3. The usernotification method of claim 2, wherein: the making of the first usernotification includes causing a light-emitting element to flash, and themaking of the second user notification includes causing thelight-emitting element to light up.
 4. The user notification method ofclaim 3 further comprising: making a third user notification that isdifferent from the first and second user notifications in response todetermining that the pointing body is in the pen-down state.
 5. The usernotification method of claim 4, wherein: the making of the first usernotification includes causing the light-emitting element to flash in afirst color, the making of the second user notification includes causingthe light-emitting element to light up in the first color, and themaking of the third user notification includes causing thelight-emitting element to light up in a second color that is differentfrom the first color.
 6. The user notification method of claim 1,wherein the given operation is a pressing operation of an operatingbutton.
 7. A handwritten data capture device comprising: a sensorcontroller which, in operation, successively acquires coordinate data ofa pointing body on a touch sensor and successively stores the acquiredcoordinate data in a first area of a memory; an operation acceptanceunit which, in operation, accepts a given operation by a user; anotification unit which, in operation, generates user notifications; aprocessor coupled to the operation acceptance unit and the notificationunit; and a memory storing a program that causes the processor to: makea given first notification using the notification unit in response to adetermination that the coordinate data is already stored in the firstarea of the memory and that the pointing body is in a pen-up state, andswitch a storage destination of the coordinate data acquired by thesensor controller to a second area of the memory that is different fromthe first area in response to an acceptance of the given operation bythe operation acceptance unit.
 8. The handwritten data capture device ofclaim 7, wherein the program causes the processor to make a second usernotification using the notification unit that is different from thefirst user notification in response to a determination that the pointingbody is not in the pen-down state and that the coordinate data is notalready stored in the first area of the memory.
 9. The handwritten datacapture device of claim 8, wherein the program causes the processor to:make the first user notification by causing a light-emitting element ofthe notification unit to flash, and make the second user notification bycausing the light-emitting element to light up.
 10. The handwritten datacapture device of claim 9 wherein the program causes the processor tomake a third user notification using the notification unit that isdifferent from the first and second user notifications in response to adetermination that the pointing body is in the pen-down state
 11. Thehandwritten data capture device of claim 10, wherein the program causesthe processor to: make the first user notification by causing thelight-emitting element to flash in a first color, make the second usernotification by causing the light-emitting element to light up in thefirst color, and the making of make the third user notification bycausing the light-emitting element to light up in a second color that isdifferent from the first color.
 12. The handwritten data capture deviceof claim 7, wherein the given operation is a pressing operation of anoperating button of the operation acceptance unit.
 13. A non-transitorystorage medium storing a program that, when executed by a processor,causes a handwritten data capture device to: determine whether apointing body is in a pen-up state or a pen-down state; determinewhether coordinate data of the pointing body on a touch sensor of thehandwritten data capture device is already stored in a first area of amemory; make a first user notification in response to a determinationthat the coordinate data is already stored in the first area of thememory and that the pointing body is in the pen-up state; and switch astorage destination of the coordinate data acquired by a sensorcontroller of the handwritten data capture device to a second area ofthe memory that is different from the first area in response to anacceptance of a given user operation.
 14. The storage medium of claim13, wherein the program causes the processor to make a second usernotification that is different from the first user notification inresponse to a determination that the pointing body is not in thepen-down state and that the coordinate data is not already stored in thefirst area of the memory.
 15. The storage medium of claim 14, whereinthe program causes the processor to: make the first user notification bycausing a light-emitting element to flash, and make the second usernotification by causing the light-emitting element to light up.
 16. Thestorage medium of claim 15 wherein the program causes the processor tomake a third user notification that is different from the first andsecond user notifications in response to a determination that thepointing body is in the pen-down state
 17. The storage medium of claim16, wherein the program causes the processor to: make the first usernotification by causing the light-emitting element to flash in a firstcolor, make the second user notification by causing the light-emittingelement to light up in the first color, and the making of make the thirduser notification by causing the light-emitting element to light up in asecond color that is different from the first color.
 18. The storagemedium of claim 13, wherein the given operation is a pressing operationof an operating button of the handwritten data capture device.